Almost a year into interim Superintendent Stan Smith's tenure, the Orleans Parish School Board is expected Tuesday to take up the issue of finding a permanent leader for the district, but members are already at odds on how to conduct a search.

President Ira Thomas is proposing a regional search driven by a community group that would put a new superintendent in place in 90 days. Another proposal, supported by board member Seth Bloom, calls for a national search to be conducted by a professional education search firm.

The topic is listed as a discussion item on the agenda. However, Thomas said board members could "vote (tonight) on something to move the process forward."

As he did with similarly contentious items in February and March,
Thomas put the superintendent search on the full board agenda without
going through the usual committee process. The agenda comes out 24 hours
in advance.

When asked about the move, Thomas said he "missed an opportunity" to put it
through committee and members wanted to discuss the issue. Tonight will be the first time the board will publicly discuss the type
of candidate they are searching for or the appropriate process to
follow.

Thomas said he wants someone who understands the charter system, has a strong record of success in both academics and garnering community support and will reach out to the business community. With only six direct-run schools, Orleans Parish isn't a sufficiently plum job to warrant a national search, he said.

"We're a small school district," Thomas said. "How attractive is that going to be? How competitive can we be on salary?"

Thomas said he has asked the district to draft a job description. He admits his timeline is "aggressive, but it is aimed at getting a superintendent in place before August," he said.

Bloom acknowledged that a national search would cost more. But he believes it is crucial to finding a "dynamic" superintendent who will change the district's culture.

That, he said, is critical to enticing schools now governed by the state Recovery School District to return to local control. The Orleans Parish School Board's power was drastically diminished after Hurricane Katrina when the RSD took over most New Orleans schools.

"We could use a real shakeup," Bloom said. "I don't think our organization is run as professionally as it could be."

While Bloom said he considers community input "extremely important," hiring a superintendent was "very much a business decision that someone in the educational professional (world) should handle."

Since the board's retreat in Houston earlier this month, members have said they want to try to work together to avoid the factionalized voting that had begun to emerge. In recent meetings, Thomas garnered support on controversial issues from Cynthia Cade and board Vice President Leslie Ellison; Bloom, Woody Koppel and Sarah Usdin voted together; and Nolan Marshall was a swing vote.

Smith became the district's chief financial officer in July 2006 and eventually ran daily operations while his predecessor Darryl Kilbert dealt with health problems at the end of his six-year tenure. Before that, the district saw significant turnover at the top, with three interim or permanent superintendents in three years.

The meeting starts at 5 p.m. at McDonogh 35, 1331 Kerlerec St. The agenda is posted at opsb.us.